During the last decade in Finland, many concerns about the gap between vocational education and working life were expressed in public discussions. Vocational education and training in Finland has been strongly school-based, with only short, and often unsupervised, practice periods. Vocational education was criticised for taking place in a sterile environment inside vocational institutions and for not producing qualifications needed in working life. In response to these concerns, vocational training programmes were extended to three years in all fields, the curricula were revised and compulsory on-the-job learning periods were introduced in all study programmes in 2001. After these developments, the completion of initial vocational qualification requires 120 credits (taking three years) which include at least 20 credits (six months) of on-the-job learning. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate on-the-job learning in vocational education from the student's point of view. The study focuses both on processes of work-based learning and on learning outcomes. Special attention is being paid to issues raised in recent discussions about combining work and learning, such as the connection between formal and informal learning (Guile & Griffits, 2001) and the related question about the integration of theory, practice and self-regulation (Tynjälä et al., 2003). Students' experiences of supervision are being examined as well. More specifically, the following research questions are addressed: 1) How do students experience supervision of on-the-job learning?, 2) How do students see the link between school-based and work-based learning, and 3) what do students feel they have learnt at work?Data for the study is being collected from third year students from two areas of Finland. The first data collection was conducted in three vocational establishments in the City of Helsinki during three months period (15.11.2003 - 13.2. 2004) (N= 1100). The second data collection is currently (March 2004) being carried out in vocational establishments in the area of Central Finland (N=2200). The data were collected using an Internet questionnaire. So far, preliminary findings from the Helsinki data are available. In Helsinki, 518 students (46 %) answered the questionnaire. Preliminary findings show that most of the students were satisfied with the supervision of on-the-job learning. However, about 20 % of the students felt that they would have needed more support from teachers or workplace instructors. About two thirds of the students considered work-based learning and school-based learning to be well integrated with each other. However, one third of the students did not find good connection between school learning and work-based-learning. In further analyses the students' conceptions of the relation between school-based learning and work-based learning will be examined in more detail by field of study. Students reported that during the on-the-job learning period they learned particularly collaboration skills, got an overall picture of their field, gained an ability to perform in new situations, and learned to learn and work independently. In contrast, a lot of students felt that they did not learn much skills such as using a foreign language in work or computer skills. More detailed findings will be presented at the Conference.

References:

Guile, D. & Griffits, T. (2001). Learning through work experience. Journal of Education and Work 14 (1), 113-131
• Tynjälä, P., Välimaa, J. & Sarja. A. (2003) Pedagogical perspectives on the relationships between higher education and working life. Higher Education 46 (2), 147-166